Chapter 4
The sun was already below the ocean level on the west when the Kender party approached Twin Oaks.
Twin Oaks was located next to the Blood Sea Ocean. A small cliff separated the town from the water body. A trail had been built to help connect the village to the beach where laid peers and small fishing boats. In the middle of the town there used to be two huge oaks separated by about eighty human paces (around one hundred thirty Kenders paces). The town square was placed right in the middle of the two giant trees. It was the center of the community, a big common field and at the center was a circle made of rocks where fires could be held.
Weddings were celebrated between those oaks as well as funerals. Every gathering the community had was held there. A long rope bridge connected the two trees at about half their height. The bridge was used by the Kender kids to connect their numerous self-made tree houses populating the branches of the trees. In fact, there used to be more tree houses then real houses in the village. It is said that Twin Oaks' kids rarely sleep home. That could explain why Twin Oaks had the highest birth rate per couple in all of the Kender communities…
Right now, one of the massive oak was laying on the ground. It had visibly been recently hacked at the base. As it was falling, it crashed on several small houses. It must have been very impressive to see the huge tree fall. Many Kenders were working on the fallen oak, removing branches to get access under the tree, probably to salvage what could be left from the small huts that were smashed from the huge tree. An old female Kender was shouting a name repeatedly while looking under the tree. It was evident that she was looking for a missing fellow.
As it entered the town, the group was greeted very kindly by the town folks. Looking around, Myrra saw evident traces of the Ogres' passage. Like in Hidden Pond, many houses where burned to the ground. Many Kenders were wounded, limping, or having bandages around various parts of their body. Myrra was looking everywhere. It was her first time in another village and at some point, the village pretty much resembled Hidden Pond.
The villagers gathered around them. They soon began to exchange information about the attack from the Ogres in Goodlund.
Loyia learned that the Ogres used the same basic brutish tactics here as they did in Hidden Pond. They arrived from the road, rushed into the village, kidnapped a couple of kids and, seeing the youngsters fleeing in the oak, they decided to hack it to grab them. Defenders in the village tried to fight back the Ogres but it was useless.
"Most of the kids got in the tree, to their tree house, when the attack began. They thought the Ogres were playing hide and seek. Seeing that, the Ogres decided to cut the tree down to retrieve the youngsters," sadly explained a father.
"Oh… did they capture all of them?" asked Myrra.
"Most of them survived the fall of the tree and were put in the giant cage. The others are gone for their final journey. My daughter is one of them."
"My, my, I'm sorry," said a very sad Myrra.
Turning her head, she looked at Skwejee who was also talking with some town folks about the attack. The would-be Knight had his jaws set and crisped. He was angry that such large creatures attacked innocent and harmless fellows. Myrra noticed that his left hand was resting on his sword hilt. The knuckle was white as the Kender was gripping his hilt very hard from frustration.
If Skwejee had been there, he would have died defending the kids, thought Myrra with admiration.
To lower the tension in the group, Myrra tried to change the subject: "It is bad now that Twin Oaks won't be able to be called Twin Oaks anymore."
"Of course we are still the town of Twin Oaks!" said several Kenders, all smiling and pointing to a small oak sapling. No higher than the average Kender, the sapling was recently put to the ground in about the same
distance from the big one but on a different direction, away from the actual town square.
"We wanted to move the center of the town a little bit to the west anyway," said the mayor of the small community; "because of the expansion and all that…"
"No better time than now to do some changes!" Myrra had moved closer to Skwejee. She took him by the arm and gave him a little punch on the shoulder.
The Kenders acknowledged silently. Skwejee looked at Myrra and gave her a smile. Smiling back, Myrra looked around the village again and a strange sight caught her eyes.
A human was in the village. It was a strange sight because normally, for a reason unknown to Kenders, human tend to evade every Kender community as much as they can. The human was a male and probably a warrior by trade. Having a shield slung on his back and a sword hanging on his belt. Missing any logo or heraldry on his clothes or shield marked him as a probable mercenary. Physically, there was nothing special about that human. What was out of the ordinary was the way he acted, what he inspired. He had a look of calmness and self confidence around him; almost of nobility. He gave the feeling that he was used to settle disputes and conflicts without the use of violence, even though he looked quite capable of using that sword to great efficiency. That made him out of place as a mercenary, as far away to a normal bullying brute as could be.
"Hey sis, look over there!" Myrra pointed toward the warrior.
"Human," Loyia spat the word as if it tasted badly. "And a goddamn mercenary as it looks like! Let's stay clear of him as much as we can."
"Hum… there is something strange about this guy," said Skwejee, looking carefully at the stranger.
"What? He is not killing weaker beings? That's what is looking strange to me!" Loyia was regarding the stranger with clear distaste on her face.
"On the contrary! Look carefully, he is kneeling, while talking to that elder; like if he wants to accommodate her," observed Skwejee.
Snorting in disgust, Loyia replied: "Or he is treating her like a human kid."
"Maybe… then it would say that the guy is used to be around kids; what would make him a caring father, or something. Not a blood thirsty mercenary," Skwejee pointed out.
"That's right," added Myrra.
Loyia stopped walking and looked at the newcomer carefully. As much as she was surprised by Skwejee's reasoning, the Kender would-be Knight was right. The mercenary was acting rather patiently and with great respect with the elder Kender woman while gently retrieving his gears that some youngsters took by accident from his pack.
"I must admit that you might be right, Skwejee, but nevertheless, he is a human and not to be trusted. Let's move on," Loyia was adamant on her verdict of the stranger.
But before the group started back to walk toward the center of the town, the mercenary noticed them. Saluting the elder, he started to walk toward the small group.
Seeing him moving toward them, Loyia started to walk away: "Quick. Let's move!"
"Please wait!" hailed the human.
Myrra was too intrigued to obey her sister: "Hello stranger! My name is Myrra. This is Loyia and here is Skwejee. What is your name? We are chasing a group of Ogres that… Ouch!" Loyia pocked Myrra in the back, finally silencing her.
Looking a bit confused, the tall man said: "Good evening. My name is Khad. I saw you coming from the east. May I ask you a question please?"
"You already did; too bad. Bye!" Loyia grabbed both the younger Kenders and tried to make them move on but none of them would give up, intrigued by this new encounter.
"Please, it will take just one minute of your time."
"Ok but first, who are you exactly?" asked an impatient Loyia. She gave up trying to evade the encounter so she decided to do what she does best; plunging headlong into it.
"My name is Khad…"
Loyia cut the human in mid sentence: "We know that. What I want to know is what you are doing in this small Kender village?"
Khad replied to the Kenders: "My friend and I are mercenaries looking for work when our ship was caught by an enormous storm on the Blood Sea. We were traveling on two different ships and during the storm, our vessels collided. My friend's ship went down very fast and our captain tried to reach the coast before his vessel sunk, but not in time. His ship broke into pieces and most of the people on board drowned."
"Why were you and your friend traveling on separate ships?" asked Myrra. "That is strange."
"Well, it is hard to explain but we preferred not to be seen together. In case something happened to one of us. Safer, you know?" explained Khad.
"No, we don't know. We are used to travel with our friends, unless we have something to hide… What do you have to hide?" accused Loyia
"I have nothing to hide. It is just safer to do it that way," patiently explained the mercenary.
"What makes you think your friend survived the shipwreck?" Myrra was all ears for this very interesting sea story. This day could not have been more interesting for the young adventurer. She was enjoying every second of it.
"My friend is very… resourceful. But I lost track of him. So maybe you have seen him?" Khad was trying to get the conversation going on.
"Why should we help you? So you can continue to kidnap Kender kids for the Black Dragon army?" accused Loyia.
Before Khad could reply, Skwejee jumped inside the conversation: "I think you are a Solamnic Knight on a mission!"
Everybody stopped talking and looked at the Kender. The most surprised of them all was Khad.
"What? No… I'm a mercenary! And I'm not working for the dragon army neither."
"What makes you think he is a Solamnic Knight?" asked Loyia to Skwejee, ignoring the mercenary's reply.
"A feeling. I've been around them for some time you know. And this guy is acting exactly like one of them," Skwejee made Khad a big not-so-subtle wink, as if both shared an important secret.
Loyia was thinking hard while looking at the mercenary who was trying to get his voice back.
Loyia had an idea: "I have a map here. It could help you find where your friend is."
"Can I have a look at it please?" asked Khad.
"Sure, but first, since you are a blood thirsty mercenary, you have to redeem yourself from your evil past deeds," said Loyia with a broad smile. She turned around and giggled at the other Kenders.
The other two Kenders understood where the older was going. They winked between themselves, also smiling.
"This is going to be fun!" said Myrra.
"One redemption task list coming up!" yelled Skwejee. He removed his backpack and gave it to Khad hoping that he would transport the heavy burden.
"I don't like where this is going. And no, I'm not going to be your slave for the next couple of days just to look at a map!" Khad was firm on that.
"Ha! ha! Ok, let's move. Leave that evil mercenary to his dirty work" Loyia grabbed Skwejee's backpack and gave it back to its owner.
It was Khad's turn to counterattack the Kender group: "I don't need you anyway to find my Magic User friend…" he said, making a side glance at the group, barely suppressing a smile.
They all stared at Khad, open mouthed and they all talked at the same time. The mercenary had the reaction he was hoping for. No Kender on Krynn could resist anything even remotely connected to magic.
"Did you say Magic User?" Myrra was all excited. She never saw a Magic User before. Only in stories had she ever heard about them. She would do anything to see one in action!
"Can he sprout lightning from his fingertips?"
"Can he change me into a dragon? Or a firefly? Or a squirrel?" inquired Skwejee, fascination filling his eyes. He could already see himself flying above the village.
"Can he help me get my child back?" Loyia pleaded. Hope was now plainly evident on Loyia's face.
In Krynn, Magic Users were very powerful people. The gift to weld and use the fabric of magic is a gift very few possessed. And even fewer can master it long enough and have devotion enough to put it to great use. To the common folks a Magic User or illusionist is the funny guy at local fare who can make coins disappear before an audience and perform other tricks and eye tricks. But to the weary traveler and adventurer like Loyia, a real Magic User is the person who can hurl fiery meteorites on score of enemies. She saw a mage once who was able to shoot lightning from his finger tips going thru at least eight armoured Goblins with such force that swords got welded on shields or breastplates. Powerful magic that can only be matched by dragon's magic. Some are rumoured to even be able to see in the future or communicate in great distances; teleport somebody from across the continent in a matter of seconds. Many great battle fates have been decided by Magic Users even against overwhelming odds. To have a Magic User of great skills by your side is an invaluable asset.
A Magic User could help her fill the four days separating her from Gab. It was an unexpected opportunity she had to catch for the sake of her son. Even if it meant that she would need to stand that dubious human for some time.
Khad was taken aback. Kneeling next to Loyia, he gently asked: "What is that about a lost child?"
Loyia hesitated a couple of heartbeats before replying: "Eight days ago, a group of Ogres and Goblins from the Black Dragon army came to our village and put all the kids they could into a huge wheeled cage. My six year old son was taken. For two days now we have been following them to free all the children," Loyia was almost on the brisk of tears.
Before Khad could reply, Loyia concluded: "Maybe your Magic User friend could magic us closer to them so we could save them before something terrible happens. Could you help us Sir Knight?"
Khad was deeply shaken by the story: "My friend is strong enough to defeat those evil creatures. I cannot let that kidnapping go unpunished. No evil creature should separate a kid from his mother. Help me find my friend and we will help you."
"Let's see that map and make a plan," added Khad.
Myrra was so happy. She jumped on Khad, giving him a huge hug. Skwejee quickly intervened to separate Myrra from the human; for her own protection, of course. That armour could hurt her, you know…
Khad gave an embarrassing pat on Myrra's shoulder, while retrieving his flint stone from her hand.
Loyia put her backpack on the floor and retrieved an old map from a scroll case. Carefully unrolling it, she showed the group's newest member where they were on it.
"This is Twin Oaks. And here is Hidden Pond, our village," indicated Loyia.
"Wow! That's a nice map! I come from here," said Skwejee, pointing at another small village on the map.
"I'm pretty sure the group is going to Flotsam, which is here," continued Loyia.
Khad was thoughtful.
"We were going to Flotsam when our ships were caught by the storm. Maybe my friend decided to head there also so we can regroup…" said Khad.
"If anything happens around here, it is bound to finish at Flotsam; either on the slave market or in jail. So it is a good point to look. And it is only two days away. We should pass the night here and leave in the morning," suggested Loyia.
The group was interrupted by the town mayor who invited them for the night meal: "Come, we are having our meal soon. Would you like to join us?"
Without waiting for a reply, the mayor herded them all to a big fire in the new town square.
The meal was uneventful and even joyful. With the town elder telling stories of his great adventures to anybody who would listen. The group learned more about the attack on the village but nobody knew the reason why they were taking kids captive and carrying them around in that giant cage.
During the meal, Loyia looked at Khad often to try to understand the man. She had a hard time to understand him. Why was he helping them? What was he doing with the Kender community? There was something strange about him that she could not understand. She did not trust him, but she needed the help of his friend. She accepted him into the group but she would have an eye on him.
The human went along with the small group very well. After the meal, he and Skwejee did some sword and shield playing, or training as they would say. Khad felt very natural as a teacher and Skwejee was all too happy to show Myrra what he could do; always over-acting all his moves and adding winks and smiles to her. Khad was quick to understand what was going on and took advantage of the distraction to hit the Kender on the knuckle with the flat side of his blade every time the Kender was distracted, to Myrra's delight.
Myrra was enjoying looking at them exercising. It was part of the adventure, as she would say.
After the training, Myrra waited to be alone with Khad and asked the mercenary: "Why do you help us, Khad?"
Hesitantly, the man smiled at Myrra and bent down to whisper in her ears: "Because that's what Knights do," after that, he winked at her.
Myrra smiled back and placed a finger on her lips to show she would keep the secret.
The villagers went to bed and the group decided to put their blankets near the heat of the now red timbers for the night.
Loyia was always keeping an eye on Khad and Skwejee. She voluntarily put her bedroll between Skwejee's and Myrra's one which brought a smile on Khad's face and a sigh from Myrra. Skwejee was about to protest, to explain that it would be best if he cut the sea breeze for Myrra but before he could say a word, Loyia cut him out with a fierce look. The young warrior recognised a lost battle when he saw one and decided to keep his arguments for himself.
Taking a few paces away from the group, Loyia turned toward the sea. With her hand in her pouch, the one that contained the broken toy dragon, she silently wished her son a good night, wherever he was…